S&P 500 in positive territory for 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Don't call it a comeback just yet, but investors brought holiday cheer to the stock markets pushing the S&P 500 back into positive territory for 2011 and the Dow up 6% for the year.

On a light trading day ahead of the holiday weekend, investors scooped up stocks after economic reports released Friday morning continue to provide glimmers of hope for the U.S. economy with better-than-expected readings on personal spending, income and housing released Friday morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 124 points, or 1% Friday. The index is up 3.6% for the week and 6.1% for year.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 11 points, or 0.9% Friday, adding 3.7 for the week and 0.6% for the year. The Nasdaq (COMP) moved 19 points higher, or 0.7%, and despite moving up 2.7% this week, it's still down 1.3% this year.

"The overall message coming through is that there are tentative signs of stability coming into housing and construction and the economy overall," said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income.

The government reported that the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level since April 2008. There were 364,000 initial jobless claims last week, 4,000 fewer than the week prior.

Investors got more good news after Thursday's market close, as House Speaker John Boehner said that he would accept a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, a move that ensures taxes will not increase on Jan. 1, 2012.

The source of much angst on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, economists viewed the scheduled tax increase as a significant potential drag on the economy in the first quarter of next year.

A Commerce Department report on new home sales showed that new home construction rose 1.6% in November compared to 1.3% in October. The figure beat expectations but still shows a relatively sluggish pace of growth in the housing sector.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost strength against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery rose 28 cents to $99.81 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $1.60 to $1,606.00 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 2.03% from 1.95% Thursday.